Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 86 036 The Gotthard Pass is ahead

The Russian army soon arrived at this border town in Switzerland. Bagration's troops entered the city first. The local self-defense group found that there were too many Russians, so they let them go. After all, the Russians are too strong!

There were more than 20,000 troops brought here by Suvorov. The wounded were left in the rear of Italy. After returning to the team, they went from the Veneto Road to Vienna and then to the rear military station in Salzburg. Those who could not continue to serve due to disability and injury were taken from near Vienna to Hungary, and arrived at Rovno through the southern marching passage, and then went to Kiev.

For them, the war was over, but for the Russian army entering Switzerland, the most dangerous battle was ahead.

"Move quickly, brothers, we have to cross the pass and let the French in Switzerland taste our power!"

When Suvorov arrived in the mountains of Switzerland, because of the cool climate, even if he felt tired due to old age, he felt much better here.

"Master, you've been on the horse all day, it's time to get off and rest!"

"Can't stop, can't stop yet, Proshka, go get me some sweet wine, I'm thirsty."

"Yes, Master."

The troops passing in front of him were the four combined grenadiers battalions behind the entire vanguard. Because there were many shortages in the troops, they had to form a temporary team like this so that they could make timely adjustments on the battlefield.

"Your Excellency, Marshal, our corps and the Austrian army behind us have caught up now. The Austrian army has collected some horses to transport supplies, and mules are hard to get."

"I know this. Go back and tell Rosenberg's column that they should be careful when they enter the mountains. As for horses, our Cossacks, Lomonsonov and Denisov, will go behind. They will provide some horses to pull rations and carry the wounded. Don't even think about mules. The Austrian emperor didn't get us mules. We can only rely on ourselves when we enter the mountains!"

The Russian column entering the mountains soon stopped in a town.

Soloviev rode to Bagration's column to convey the order. Marshal Suvorov asked Grand Duke Constantine's troops to stay in General Foster's column, because the Guards had experienced many battles and suffered the least losses. They only fought a hard battle in Novi. When they really had to fight hard, they would still need this elite force.

The situation outside the Guards was not optimistic. The two chariot regiments of Bagration's column now had less than 600 people. The grenadiers generally had no cannons. Only the grenadiers brought by Rosenberg had more than 900 people. Currently, there were only 25 cannons that could be used. The heavy artillery of the Guards was really difficult to use in the mountains. Instead, they had to pass through the Veneto line to come over.

As a result, the heavy artillery left a lot of unarmed soldiers and brought their carriages here. In fact, they became cargo carriers. By the way, they had to wait for the French light artillery to be captured and used by themselves.

This march was not easy. Soloviev rode to Biasca, where there was a fork and he had to go north through two routes.

Here he heard the intelligence provided by the Swiss mountain people. The Swiss militias who supported the French were cooperating with the French army to defend the St. Gotthard Pass. In fact, the Russian army's way forward had been blocked.

For this reason, he rode back from here to Suvorov and finally found the old marshal in a herdsman's house.

At this moment, he was chatting with an old herdsman with his loyal old servant Proshka.

When Solovyov saw him, he recognized that this was Antonio Gama, who offered to lead the Russian army. The old man was happily chatting with the old marshal.

"Hey, old general, this handsome young man is an officer under your command!"

"Yes, how come you saw him on the street?"

"I saw him when I went to the market. He was asking the herdsmen for directions on the street. I wanted to be his guide, but he disliked my old horse because I was too old."

"Ah, you don't know this kid. He has always respected the elderly and doesn't want you to be in danger!"

"What you said is true. I am used to walking on mountain roads, like an old goat. On the road on the top of the mountain, a good young man like this may not walk as fast as me!"

Well, this kind of old monster who refuses to accept old age, one Marshal Suvorov is enough, and it seems that it is still mass-produced at this time. Solovyov has seen it a lot.

Just the old men in Austria who are in their sixties and seventies and still want to wield sabers are already weird enough. It was one thing that they were slow to mobilize in battle, and their personal courage was like Huang Zhong, the average Austrian soldier—but there was no translated version of Romance of the Three Kingdoms for them to read.

He was actually writing a letter to Petersburg at this moment. After entering the mountains, the road was not easy to travel, and in fact, the communication with the outside world was temporarily interrupted.

But the letter he wrote at this moment was to Elena. In the Russian royal family, this Grand Duchess was considered his patron.

The content of his letter was actually the captured artwork, which contained two paintings, one of which depicted the goddess Hera. Although this queen of heaven was famous for her jealousy, she was also in charge of marriage and family. Elena was now engaged, and the news was also told to Grand Duke Constantine at the front line.

Another painting was given to the Crown Prince and his wife because Mrs. Lebrun's daughter once said something at a girls' tea party and said what her mother said about Alexander and Louisa.

Elena actually sent a letter to Soloviev during the days he was in Vienna. The recipient didn't think too much about it, but among the spoils captured in the Battle of Trebia, there were these oil paintings. Although they were all works by unknown painters, the composition of the paintings was still very beautiful. If they were just used as display paintings, they were still presentable.

Soloviev actually knew that the future of Russia would eventually belong to this Crown Prince. It was difficult to grasp his mind, but he always had to be in place in this regard.

Elena was famous for her love of painting. There was no problem with her handling it. Even this smart and enthusiastic Grand Duchess would explain the origin of the gift to her brother and sister-in-law.

Moreover, he had to please Constantine. Not only did he rescue people from the Po River, but he also obtained an Andalusian horse in the Battle of Trebia, which is now the Grand Duke's mount.

After sending the letter, he now accompanied Marshal Suvorov and officially started the expedition in Switzerland.

This mountain road was very difficult to walk. Just after entering Switzerland, they had a hard time walking in the mountainous areas where the Romansh people lived.

The local mountain people, in addition to old people like old Gama who were willing to be guides, also had some young people who helped provide some mules after receiving rewards. Crossing the Alps does not necessarily require horses, but mules are still necessary. After all, someone did this from the St. Bernard Pass next year, and asked someone to draw a white horse for him, which was very famous.

He traveled back and forth between the Russian outposts and the rear within a day. Suvorov did not intend to stop his camp behind, but came to the front with old Gama. After all, the old man was still very familiar with the road ahead.

Rosenberg's column entered the mountains from Biasca to the north, while the main force of the Russian army took the road to the northwest.

When the Austrians worked on the map, although the route was planned beautifully, these places were rugged and difficult to walk, and the walking speed must have been reduced a lot.

Even so, during the march, many Russian soldiers sang "Departure". Anyway, this song does not look red at all, and Suvorov was satisfied with the high morale of the soldiers on the road.

"Brothers, that's it, the Alps are nothing great, we will definitely be able to climb this mountain!"

Then the two old men, and an old servant Proshka behind them, all got off their horses and walked on the mountain road.

When passing the top of the mountain, old Gama still let Suvorov ride on the horse himself. He used his familiarity with the road and decades of experience in leading horses in the Swiss mountains to carefully pull the old marshal over bit by bit.

On the top of this small mountain, they also saw the narrow marching column winding for several kilometers in front of and behind the mountain. If they were not careful on the road, they might fall to the bottom of the mountain stream, which would be fatal.

"Old General, you see, the road ahead is even more difficult to walk from here."

"Antonio, when we reach Andermatt, isn't there a big road ahead?"

"There is a big road in Andermatt? Why haven't I heard of it?"

Suvorov frowned after hearing this. It seems that this kid, Werosser, made a mistake in the terrain when arranging the marching plan.

It is still autumn now. If they go forward on this road in the Alps, once they encounter the French army on the road, the troops will also be blocked on the road.

Although he asked Korsakov to concentrate his forces, together with the nearly 20,000 Austrian troops left by Archduke Karl, to deploy on the main transportation line. In this way, with inferior forces, they can attack and defend, take the initiative to attack, and even harass, but Korsakov did not follow this instruction, and Archduke Karl said the same thing when he left.

Since the two generals could not lead, the fate of the Russian troops in Zurich was basically determined.

If the Russian army encounters a little attack on the road, the entire army will be blocked on the road, and this result is actually that the entire battlefield action will be delayed.

And when the follow-up troops arrived in Bellinzona, it began to rain in the mountains of Switzerland. This cold weather is very deadly.

"Your Highness, it seems that you are right. If we don't let these Cossacks use horses to carry supplies, we can't even spend the night in the mountains!"

This is the first time that Constantine has been praised by the old marshal. He has messed up a lot before, but this suggestion is very important. At least the Russian army's baggage can be brought in, and when they encounter villages on the road, some troops can bury the pot and cook after the rain stops.

The work of collecting mules was only done in a few Italian-speaking towns in Switzerland. These enthusiastic Italians and Romansh people could provide them with what they needed, but this was far from enough.

As for the Cossacks, they still needed to be appeased. They were "free men", and unlike ordinary soldiers, their horses were all personal property. In general, cavalry units, such as the dragoons and Austrian cavalry brought by the Grand Duke, were mostly state property or captured on the battlefield. There was still work to be done to persuade these Cossacks to contribute their horses.

It was because of Constantine's noble status and considering that Tsar Paul was their Hetman that the Cossacks were willing to contribute their horses.

These Cossacks can fight on foot without any problems.

But it is unlikely that they will fight in a line. There is only one other situation, that is, they will be organized into scattered soldiers to join the battle.

Solovyov's rifle is actually very suitable for them, but now that they have entered the mountains, the ammunition supply has become difficult.

After all, Russia's progress in chemistry is a matter for the future. The repeated loading of the mercury fulminate primers used now can only last for a while. After leaving Italy and entering the Swiss mountains, the supply of ammunition will definitely not keep up.

Therefore, the troops using this kind of hunting rifle were placed in the second line, in front of the Guards, and could only be in the reserve.

When they arrived in front of the St. Gotthard Pass, Suvorov also noticed that the French army had already made defensive deployments from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the mountain, and had prepared more than a dozen cannons to block the road.

It is not so easy to get through, and many of the follow-up troops have not yet arrived.

He was waiting for the actions of Rosenberg's detour, and also depended on the actions of the Bagration column in the front.

As for the French army, they have been waiting for a long time. According to the order of General Massena, the French army has only one goal, which is to stop the Russian army and prevent them from passing the St. Gotthard Pass on schedule. Only by buying enough time can the main force of the French Swiss Corps have the opportunity to drive out the Russian army around Zurich.

Once this opportunity is lost, there will be no chance. As long as the Russian army passes through these passes in the hinterland of the Alps, it can form a pincer attack on him.

Old soldier and robbery expert, this description of Massena is the most appropriate. At the same time, he has very rich combat experience, which can be regarded as hammered out on the battlefield.

We should also thank the greed and stupidity of the British and Austrians. Even Tsar Paul, who never went to the battlefield, pointed out when he saw this plan that the Austrian army must give the Russian army enough preparation time before leaving Switzerland to ensure the implementation of this plan.

However, the final result is that Archduke Karl has not yet arrived in Mainz, and he has received news from a Frenchman that the British and Russian coalition forces have suffered a big setback in the Netherlands and were defeated by the defenders of only more than 30,000 people, including a large number of Batavia Republic militia.

The British didn't know that their actions in the Netherlands had always been bad, and they didn't know if they would fail again.

And what Archduke Karl was worried about now was what the Swiss battlefield would look like after he left.

As he thought when he left, it was terrible.